In the mid-1970s I lived for a while on an old homestead in the shadow of Driskill Mountain, the highest elevation in Louisiana. There the sole source of water for drinking, cooking, washing, and life in general was a small spring behind the dog-trot house. For many people in the hill parishes, shallow hand-dug wells and springs provided water until subsidized community water systems, which relied on deep bored wells, were developed. Dependable springs, in particular, were a treasured resource on any property.
